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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Couponing!

So I started getting into cutting coupons in Dec and started watching prices to get the best deals and stocking up before we need it.  It seems to have paid off so far.  I'm keeping an excel spread sheet of my spending and savings.  Since the beginning of Jan, I've spent $346 and saved $316 (That's 45%!!).  And this includes our HUGE restocking trip we took to Walmart when we came back from the holidays and had an empty fridge.  I didn't have much time to search for the best deals and price match, so we didn't save much.  I'm pretty sure I have thrown a couple of receipts away when we go to buy milk and a few things for supper. But I've noticed that I get pretty angry when we're running errands and Homer says "Lets go get some food for the week" and I have no sales papers, no time to research, and we end up spending more than we should for things. Haha.  Before we would be out and realize KB needed some more diapers and end up spending the reg price and maybe using a coupon if I happened to have one in my wallet.  Now I keep my coupon binder in my car so I have it for any unplanned shopping trips. 

So since I've started, I've been buying things we use, but don't need at the time.  Now that we're building up stock, Homer's starting to get a little concerned since we are in a tiny apartment.  And I'm afraid it'll be even worse by the end of the week b/c I'm planning on buying about 20 packs of diapers for KB and the new baby (20 total, not 20 each).  I actually ordered coupons from ebay. This was my first time, and I'm worried they wont get here in time to use them for the good target deal before it ends. They were mailed yesterday, so I should be good :).  I'll end up getting the diapers for $3.33 a pack! (usually $11, $9 if they are on sale).  So I'd say cutting coupons is worth it.  If you're still not a believer yet, listen to my great deals from tonight....
CVS:
We got 6-12 packs of Pepsi for $10 (after $10 extra bucks).  I used the rest of a $25 gift card I got for filling my new prescription there, so it actually cost me $7 at the store, and I got $10 back. PLUS, Pepsi has a rebate for the super bowl, so I'll be getting $7.50 back in the mail.  So really, I got paid to take them (and Homer was out of drinks and kept trying to buy Cokes that weren't on sale).  Then I used my $10 reward bucks and bought the milk we came to get, along w/ a few other things.
Walgreens:
Got 3 packs of Huggies diapers for FREE!!  Had some great coupons and $5 reward bucks.
 We were going out cuz KB was out of milk, and look at what we got!! :) haha

Anyway, there isnt much to update on the pregnancy.  I've been more cautious when working out after finding out about the blood next to the sac. I've been staying away from jumping and keeping one foot on the ground like my dr suggested.  I have not had any more nausea since I started my meds.  I take it at night, and it's still hard to get going in the morning because i'm still sleepy from the meds.  I have noticed that I've been waking up more during the night to pee.  I've also noticed I'm getting more bloated. I've had to use my belly band a couple of times and wear my pants unbuttoned.  I also called my OB in birmingham to let him know I'd be coming down there and he'd have to catch my baby.  But I think the nurse was a little hesitant to tell him just yet since I'm not out of the 1st trimester yet and still have the possibility of miscarriage.  But keep praying that the little bean will hang in there and make it through. 

Thursday, January 21, 2010

1st Appointment

Today was my 1st dr appointment.  It went well.  I had my exams and such and everything was looking good. So far I have lost a 1/2 a lb (compared to the scale at my parents house). Could be just a difference in scales, or it could be the fact that I don't enjoy food these days, either way, I see it as an improvement from last time.  He reminded me that no matter what family tells you, you dont need to eat for 2! ha. but I was surprised to learn that a preggo woman only needs about 2000 cal/day.  I mean I knew we only needed about 300 cal more, but didnt realize it was only 2000.  He wrote me a RX for a nausea medicine. So hopefully it will go away in a couple of days! I'm really excited about this!!  Since I came off birth control and got preg right away, he wanted me to get an ultrasound to determine the date since it can vary w/ birth control.  So I went to another place (new for me cuz last time it was in his office) and got it done this afternoon.  I got to see the little baby. It's heartrate was 180! But the tech said it was good for 8 weeks.  It has small limb buds but is pretty much still a big smudge.  But it was great to see it... and to only see one!! Such a relief!!  The radiologist met with me to go over the US and said there was a small amount of blood next to the sac.  He asked if I had it in my other preg (which they never mentioned to me before). But then said it prob will be fine and having a heart beat was a great sign and since I haven't had any bleeding or cramping it should be fine.  He said many women with it go on to have their babies with no problems and not to worry.  I don't know anything about this (our reproduction section starts in March) so I'm kinda worried. Hopefully it'll resolve soon and everything will be fine.  My dates were right and the baby is 8 wks 0 days, putting he/she due Sept 2. 

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Stuck in bed...

Yesterday was awful for me!  I had the day off from school and had planned to catch up on the studying I didn't do last week and the weekend.  So when Kaylee Beth woke up, I started getting her ready to go to school. Well, I had the usual nausea, only it seemed to be a lot worse than usual.  I usually can force myself to eat breakfast and by 9 or 10 it is a lot better. But I felt so bad that I was afraid to put anything in my mouth and had to leave her in her high chair alone so I could avoid the smells of her cheerios (yes, I realize they don't even really smell!--my pregnant nose can smell dirty diapers in the next room before she's even done, and not to mention the unique urine smell shower water has taken on...) Anyway, I finally got her ready and out the door. As soon as I got home, I laid back on the couch (I was still sleeping on the couch in hopes to not catch Homer's virus).  Homer came home after work and changed the sheets on our bed so I could sleep in there.  I woke up every hour or so still with nausea.  After 6 hours of constant nausea, I had Homer call my dr to see what I could take. They said I could take vitamin B6 and Unisom (it's a sleeping med--not really sure how it helps w/ nausea). But as soon as I swallowed the unisom, I felt it coming back.  Luckily throwing up wasn't too bad since all I had on my stomach was water and ginger ale.   After sleeping some more I finally felt like eating a little at about 5 pm. 

After lying in bed all day, it made it all better when I played with KB in her room that night.  After I changed her diaper, she picked up her baby doll and laid her on her tummy.  She moved her up and down saying "up....down" and then laugh and did it over and over.  Then she sat her baby up and started "reading" her a book.  I teared up (I'm already emotional!) thinking that she's doing to her baby what we do with her.  I smiled realizing it could be worse... she could be telling her baby "no" and pointing her finger at her!  So after a hard day of lying in bed (and crying b/c "I missed Kaylee Beth" cuz she was at school), I realized that Homer and I seem to be doing alright with the whole parenting thing.  Which is a very good thing since we're working on baby #2.... or #3 

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Let the cravings begin...

This week has been a little harder.  I've had nausea almost every morning from the time I wake up til about 10 or 11 in the morning.  I've been forcing myself to eat something hoping that it will make me feel better.  I have found that suckers seem to help and so I bought a pack of dum dums to stick in my bag for class.  

This weekend has been especially rough.  We go out to dinner every Friday night. And this whole week I have been looking forward to going to get a philly cheesesteak and fries. Well, it wasn't as good as I made it out to be in my head. And it was actually WAY greesy and left me feeling gross all night. We did get to make it to Walgreens and the groc store to pick up some bargins! Kaylee Beth got a metal toy shopping cart for christmas from Gran and we've been taking it in the groc store to keep her entertained while we shop.  Everyone stops and comments on her pushing the cart. At least it keeps her quiet and we dont have to hear people mumbling something about "the screaming child," which is usually how groc shopping goes.  Then we also went to Target to hit up their 75% off toy section for christmas next year (a little early, I know. But this year I spend my last few weeks before Christmas racking my brain to think of things to get people and then fighting the crowds to get it).  Anyway, so Sat morning we headed to the gym for a work out. Then after lunch, Homer said he didn't feel good. Then after trying to sleep and running to the bathroom, he threw up.  So needless to say I had to take care of him and KB all day. There went my hopes of catching up on studying.  To try and keep me and the babies from getting the virus, I slept on the couch.  Did I mention that I don't sleep well if I'm not in a bed?  Today he was better but I was completely exhausted. I remember fading in and out this morning while KB was doing puzzles and playing.  Then I slept through her nap time as well! Once we finally got going today, we went shopping. Homer asked me if I wanted to go to gymboree (one of my fav places to shop for kb!) and I said NO! I never turn down shopping, especially if he ASKS me if I want to go there! I'm telling you, this pregnancy is really wearing me out!  I can barely walk 10 ft carrying her now, and so it seems she only wants to be carried.


We had thought about keeping Kaylee Beth out of day care tomorrow to take her to this indoor play place (you know, to celebrate the birthday, of course haha). It has lots of diff themed play rooms.  We took her there last year and she really enjoyed it.  But we decided we would take her there next weekend instead and use tomorrow while she's gone to do the studying we didn't get to this weekend.  

Thursday is my first dr appt. I'm super excited b/c we'll be getting an ultrasound. Since I haven't seen what's going on in there yet, I've been really nervous it's twins!  So this will either calm my nerves or give me another reason to worry! More to come after the appointment. 

Earlier this week, I was really in the mood for cake. Then it turned into cheesecake. So the 3 of us headed to the groc store one night to get some.  (turned out it they didnt have what i wanted and it wasn't very satisfying)  Then tonight I was really craving some french fries, only I didn't know what kind I wanted. We drove around the mall looking at all of the restaurants while I thought about their fries. We drove past an Arby's, and after turning around a couple of time, finally made it. Their homestyle fries seemed to be the right choice.  Only to find out that they don't serve them anymore! The curly fries were OK, but it wasn't what I was expecting and just made me feel like a cow afterward.  Hopefully I'll start craving something healthy next, like green beans or broccoli. haha I can hope!

Monday, January 11, 2010

A Wave of Exhaustion

This weekend Homer had his monthly reserves duties, so he was gone all Saturday and most of Sunday.  So it was just me and Kaylee Beth.  This weekend was supposed to be dedicated to studying for boards, but being an curious 19 month old, KB did not let me achieve any of this!  Luckily, she slept in to 8:30 both mornings. However, after being up for a hour, I was ready to go back to sleep.  This pregnancy has definitely made me more exhausted. Maybe it is because the first time, my only responsibility was making a baby.  Or maybe it's because this time I have a toddler, hubby, and medical school.  Whatever the cause, I took advantage of her 2 hour naps and got one myself! This past week I've had to get a 2 hour nap most days.  Today was the start of a new section in school and I was worried about being tired since we had class from 8-3. Surprisingly, I wasn't even tired today.
That reminds me, I have successfully cut out all caffeine!  I'm proud of this fact b/c I seem to have been addicted to it for years.  It was hard to fight the temptation today b/c we had lunch provided for us and the bin of diet cokes were calling out to me. But I held strong as the only med student to grab a sprite! haha
This morning I woke up with a sick feeling, but made myself eat some cereal anyway.  Kaylee Beth had syrup this morning and loves to drink from my new waterbottle. So all day long I smelled syrup when I drank my water.  That sure kept the sick feeling around! The smell of syrup all day long makes me sick when I'm not pregnant! Yuck!
Here in Kansas City, it has snowed for a couple of weeks.  Today we had a warm spell and the high reached freezing!  Yesterday we were able to take KB out sledding at our apartments.  She had a lot of fun being carried up the hill by Homer and being pulled down.   With the weather keeping us inside, she's kept busy with her puzzles, books, and bossing us around!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Baby #2

It's the start of a new year, and the start of a new family member! As crazy as it may seem, we decided to expand our family again, despite our adventurous 19 month old, medical school, and Homer getting his undergrad degree. We both always wanted our children to be close in age (not quite as close and Homer's siblings--a yr apart each!! Yikes!!), but close enough to where they are friends and not just siblings. Once we got the news that I would be in Birmingham for my 3rd year clinical rotations, we decided it was time for a new addition to the family. I had read "How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby" by Dr. Shettles, and though we didn't take 3-4 months like he suggests to understand the cycle, we used his methods for a boy. So we'll see how that pans out in a couple of months, I guess.

Homer and my mom are both hoping for a boy. I on the other hand would like either. I would love a boy since we had a girl the first time. But I'd also love a girl b/c I LOVE dressing Kaylee Beth up in dresses and bows (& my fav color is pink-haha).

We found out a couple of days before Christmas that we were expecting again. I should be due around Sept 2, and I am almost 6 weeks right now. My friend Brittany started an embroidery business (Oh-Sew-Sweet.com) and made Kaylee Beth a "Big Sister" shirt. So she was the one that told our family and friends. Our family was so surprised and excited. It was so much fun telling everyone, even though we pretty much had to tell most of them to read her shirt. So far, I have felt great. I've had a couple of days of exhaustion and yesterday I just felt "yucky" but I feel very lucky that that is all I've had so far. Some days I've wondered if I read the preg test wrong b/c I've felt so good.

Since I've been having to go to the restroom so frequently this time, I didn't think it was fair that Homer got to just sit on the couch a relax when I had to keep getting up every 15 mins. So, I've decided that he has to at least stand up every time I have to go. Haha, he's such a good sport. I just had to smile when I stood up last night, turned at looked at him, and he hopped up too!

I'm determined not to blow up like I did when I was pregnant with Kaylee Beth! Over the past year, Homer and I have been hitting the gym pretty regularly. A lot of the information on exercise in pregnancy says not to get your heart beat over 140/150. Which for me, is like I'm not really even exercising. My advisor at my school does research on preg women and exercise so I decided to ask her. She says research shows that you can work out at the same intensity and same duration as before you were pregnant. You just still need to listen to your body and stop when you are overdoing it. She's getting me a couple of medical articles to read on the subject, but I am very glad to know that it will not only not harm my baby but will also be good for it! So with that, I'm headed to the gym since I have the morning free today.